Photo by Tiffany Kelly Peterson
A few potential new cast members for the new reality T.V. show “Girdwood Unleashed”
A few potential new cast members for the new reality T.V. show “Girdwood Unleashed”
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Photo by Tiffany Kelly Peterson A few potential new cast members for the new reality T.V. show “Girdwood Unleashed” |
By Philip Peterson II
Special to the Turnagain Times
Let me take you back seven months to the beginning of the season. I asked retired Alyeska pro-patroller Don Haglund to make a season long weather prediction. His answer, “I’m thinking it’s going to be a good high snow year.” Around the middle of December (a few weeks before the snow fall really ramped up) he called me again and said, “Here it comes, beaucoup snow… beaucoup!” With 830 inches of snow to date this season and close to twenty powder days with six inches or more, one needs to ask, Don Haglund, prophet or wizard? If only we could find a meteorologists that was half as accurate. The next time you see Haggie on the street give him a high five to recognize his forecasting prowess.
Barring a few late winter storms, it looks like we’re melting our way to the end of another great season. As the snow dwindles, our ski community will begin its annual change-over. Our skis (properly waxed and tuned) get put away and out come the backpacks, hardhats, kayak gear, fishing rods, stop signs, fishing nets, and whatever else it takes to get us through the summer. For many, Girdwood transforms from a winter hide-a-way to a launch pad from which we head out all over the world. The thought of all of you people tearing out of town in one mass exodus is almost frightening. Look out world, the barn doors are about to be thrown wide open, and a stampede of wild eyed, goggled tanned, hedonists are heading your way! It sounds like the makings for a new reality T.V. show. Rather than watch “Deadliest Catch” the world could tune in to “Girdwood Unleashed.” Whether you’re leaving for work, travel, or you’re running from the law, try to bring us back a few good stories. Even if they are embarrassing at the time, they’ll sound great in a few months over a pitcher of beer.
Before I shut this column down for the season, I would like to thank the Alyeska Mountain Host department for all of their invaluable help this season, all of the people that lent me their words for the wrap up, Ken Smith (Times publisher) for printing this rubbish, and all the people of Girdwood, Whittier, Indian, Moose Pass, Sunrise, Hope, Anchorage, and everywhere else where people have nothing better to do than read my rantings. You are all beautiful, talented, funny, sexy, and have excellent taste in journalism. Have a spectacular summer, and see if you can’t experience a good story or two.
To wrap it up I’ll leave you with Girdwood’s own master ski tech, Kevin Neff, with some advice on how to get someone’s attention this summer, “Well, when someone asks you where you’re from but you can tell they aren’t really listening to your answer… I like to tell them that I’m from orbit; I was the first baby born in space. It was during the Apollo lunar program, they were bringing a lot of embryos up into space for experimental reasons. I didn’t have a mother growing up, my mother was the plasma cylinder where I was mixed together. Someone had put a big Budweiser sticker on it. They don’t actually know which astronaut was my dad, but I know it was one of the seven on board at the time…People usually take notice when you say something like that.”